Former NFL player survives 16 hours at sea

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Tuesday, January 13, 2015
VIDEO: Former NFL player survives 16 hours at sea
Former Miami Dolphins player Rob Konrad is talking about his incredible story of survival.

Former Miami Dolphins player Rob Konrad is talking about his incredible story of survival.



Konrad was reeling in a big catch off the South Florida coast last week when he fell off his 36-foot fishing boat.



His boat was on auto-pilot and took off without him.



"After panicking for a minute, I realized I was in real trouble," he said.



He was left behind without a life jacket and stranged in the ocean 9 miles from shore.



"I got bit by a jellyfish. I was circled by a sharl, luckily he did one circle and left," Konrad recalled.



His wife Tammy became increasingly worried when he still wasn't home hours after dinner and alerted the coast guard.



"I called our friends and you know we were all terrified," said Tammy.



Back at sea, Konrad even saw Coast Guard helicopters flying overhead looking for him.



"They had come right over the top of me and had their lights on me and kept going," he said.



So he started swimming, battling huge waves and 25mph winds.



He was determined to survive.



And he did, after 16 hours and a total of 27 miles.



Konrad said he swam not just for his life, but for his family.



"I've got two beautiful daughters, I was hitting that shore," he said.


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